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Quantitative Analysis of Land Use Change

OpenLand is an R package for analyzing and visualizing land use and land cover (LUCC) time series using intensity analysis, interactive diagrams, and spatial mapping.

Get StartedAPI Reference
# Install OpenLand
install.packages(“OpenLand”)
# Load the package
library(OpenLand)
# Analyze land use change
results <- intensityAnalysis(
dataset = SL_2002_2014
)

Quick Start

Get up and running with OpenLand in minutes

1

Install OpenLand from CRAN

Install the package using R’s built-in package manager:
install.packages("OpenLand")
Or install the development version from GitHub:
devtools::install_github("reginalexavier/OpenLand")
2

Prepare your raster data

Load your land use/land cover raster time series. Rasters must be named with the format name_year (e.g., landscape_2020):
library(OpenLand)
library(raster)

# Load your raster stack
my_rasters <- stack("path/to/rasters/")
3

Generate contingency tables

Extract land use transitions from your raster time series:
# Create contingency tables
ct <- contingencyTable(
  input_raster = my_rasters,
  pixelresolution = 30
)
4

Run intensity analysis

Perform three-level intensity analysis to understand change patterns:
# Perform intensity analysis
intensity <- intensityAnalysis(
  dataset = ct,
  category_n = "Forest",
  category_m = "Agriculture"
)

# Plot the results
plot(intensity$category_lvlGain)

Key Features

Everything you need for land use change analysis

Intensity Analysis

Three-level framework analyzing interval, category, and transition patterns following Aldwaik & Pontius (2012)

Interactive Visualizations

Create Sankey diagrams, chord diagrams, and net/gross change plots to communicate findings

Spatial Mapping

Map accumulated changes and transition frequencies across your study area

Flexible Time Series

Support for regular and irregular time intervals with multiple raster formats

Explore the Documentation

Dive deep into OpenLand’s capabilities

Core Concepts

Understand the methodology behind intensity analysis and contingency tables

Guides

Step-by-step tutorials for common workflows and analysis patterns

Examples

Real-world case studies including the São Lourenço Basin dataset

API Reference

Complete function reference with parameters and return values

Visualization Tools

Explore all plotting functions for creating publication-ready figures

S4 Classes

Understand OpenLand’s object-oriented structure for analysis outputs

Ready to analyze land use change?

Start exploring your land cover time series with OpenLand’s powerful analysis tools and visualization capabilities.

Get Started Now

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